1) Onion and garlic, size of onion used and amount of garlic is dependent on size of pumpkin used.
2) Chop onion, use a sharp knife to avoid tears. Or chill the onion in the fridge before hand.
3) Chop the garlic, nothing fancy needed.

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Normally I use homemade stock but I don't have any a the moment so I used store bought. Go for low sodium stuff if possible. I used chicken but beef broth would work just as nicely. If you want a totally vegetarian dish, just use vegetable stock.

1) Have the onion and garlic ready.
2) Preheat a pan with some vegetable oil.
3) Saute the onion for a bit.

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Don't let the onion burn, just sweat it a little then add the garlic to it.

1) Add the garlic once the onion gets some colour to it.
2) Salt, pepper and herbs (use fresh or dry) I used some dried supermarket Italian herb in a bottle.
3) Add the stock once everything is smelling good. (READ ABOVE POST ^)

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1) Add the stock to the pot and let it heat up.
2) I am just warming up some soup (tomato based chicken soup) I made the day before whilst I am waiting.
3) Also check on the pumpkin to see that it is not burning.

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VERY IMPORTANT, don't go over board with the stock. You want to taste the Pumpkin not the stock. I used just over a cup (~300 ml of stock).

1) Once the pumpkin are nicely roasted. Place into the stock, use a fork (good way to also test if the pumpkin is done).
2) Cover the pumpkin with water, you want the pumpkin totally immersed in liquid. Since it will reduce a little when you shimmer it.
3) Put the lid on and let it shimmer for a while, until the pumpkin is really tender and almost falling apart (maybe 10-15 minutes).
4) Put into blender and blend it until smooth.

PS. An immersion blender would be best but I don't have the money to get one so I just use a regular blender.
PPS. Amount of stock used would also be dependent on the size of pumpkin used. I had a small pumpkin this time, hence a medium sized onion and a little over a cup of stock.

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Remember to let it cool a bit before blending and cover the blender with a folded piece of paper towel to let steam escape.

1) Blend in batches if your blender or food processor is not large enough. I had to blend two separate times. (This Braun blender is older than I am!)
2) Return to the pot to bring back up to the desired temperature, I like my soups pipping hot! Also season to taste now before serving.
3) Serve it up and enjoy, here I am eating it with a nice piece of bread. Often times people will finish the soup with heavy cream or half and half. I don't since the soup is smooth enough as it is the way I make it. Plus it is healthier this way.

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Only I don't have a blender. Think it would be just as good if I used a hand mixer to puree it?

Hand mixer is fine, the final texture of the soup will not be as smooth. Might even be a little lumpy. Won't affect the taste though and some people like their soup a little lumpy. If I make potato soup for company I have to leave it lumpy for one of my friends.

If I was going to use a hand mixer, I would do things a little differently however.

1) Let the pumpkin shimmer a little longer.
2) Use a ricer (device to make mash potatoes) or a masher to break up the pumpkin first.
3) Once it is all broken down, let it shimmer a little again (maybe 5 minutes) before mixing.
4) Take it off the heat and make sure the sides of the pot is high enough so that you don't get bits of soup everywhere.

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Question: How do you know a pumpkin is ripe? (We dont use pumpkin in my house ).

Onster, if you look at the first post you will notice that the green pumpkin has bits of yellow and orange on its skin, that is ripe. The green pumpkin is Japanese squash, one of the reason why I like using them is that when they go ripe they change colour.

You can use any type of squash or pumpkin for this recipe. Slightly different flavour and texture with each one, but any is fine. I just like using the Japanese variety. Just buy it and store it in a cool room or cellar for a few weeks.

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